Removing light swirl marks by hand?

Hey guys I am new to this whole thing but have been reading quite a bit on the topic. From what I have read, the best way to remove swirl marks is to use a rotary buffer with a good polish and pad combination. My question is if there is a product/way to remove the light swirl marks which were made last time i washed the car (wool mitt went bad on me and i didnt use 2 buckets like i usually do) by hand. I understand that it will probably take a while and be a pain in the ass, but i want to try it by hand before i invest in a porter cable. Would something like scratchX, applied 3-4 times sufficiently do the job? I am also looking at 3M ultrafina however that is what i would use with a rotary buffer.

Rotary is a good way, but not the best way, to remove swirling but unless your well versed in its use .. you can install holograms which in turn will need to be removed with a PC .

In reality unless you have gorilla arms your not going to get swirling out by hand. SwirlX has a lot of fillers and is intended for spot use etc etc .. And after a few washes your back where you started.

The other thing is you don't "apply" polishes and polishes to be effective need to be worked until they break down, something you can't do by hand.

Hand Polishing

Will require patience and a lot of ‘elbow grease’ but in some circumstances adequate results can be obtained

Hand polishing is necessary around door handles, especially those that are recessed, around badges and emblems and around trim and panel edges, once masking tape has been removed and water drainage channel in trunk and hood.

The application of detailing products with a random orbital has the advantage of ensuring an even consistent pressure and contact speed, mimicking free hand motion but at a far greater pace and a greatly reduced physical effort. By allowing the weight and the random motion of the machine do the work, thus ensuring that the product is applied in a thin even layer, and will allow products to get embedded deeper into the paint film surface's porosity.

As a caveat I would say that very little correction can be accomplished by hand polishing, this is especially true with dense (hard) clear coat finishes like CeramiClear. If you are going to polish a large area by hand use a non-diminishing polish as they only require pressure, whereas diminishing abrasives require both kinetic energy (friction) and consistent pressure, which hand polishing cannot maintain over a long period of time.

Plus you’re going to feel numb for a week if you try and polish an entire car by hand. What can be accomplished however is with the use of an abrasive all-in-one type product to remove defects such as surface water spots, oxidation, etc.

its not so much swirl marks as light "swirl like" scratches. They arent necessarily in swirl pattern but are the same type of scratch. As of now I have seen them on the roof, hood and top of the trunk and wanted to try the top of the trunk before anything. I think i may just have to get an orbital polisher because the clear coats are so much stronger now.

its not so much swirl marks as light "swirl like" scratches. They arent necessarily in swirl pattern but are the same type of scratch. As of now I have seen them on the roof, hood and top of the trunk and wanted to try the top of the trunk before anything. I think i may just have to get an orbital polisher because the clear coats are so much stronger now.

i would get a porter cable xp7424 or whatever they use on autogeek. the car is a metallic gray and while they arent easy to find, the fact that i can see them under direct like makes me think they are somewhat deep. I am going to try polishing by hand this weekend and then if it does not work will be investing in the buffer, pads and some 3m ultrafina.

i would get a porter cable xp7424 or whatever they use on autogeek. the car is a metallic gray and while they arent easy to find, the fact that i can see them under direct like makes me think they are somewhat deep. I am going to try polishing by hand this weekend and then if it does not work will be investing in the buffer, pads and some 3m ultrafina.

If you're going to purchase a Random Orbital it makes sense to consider the Groits Garage RO as it is the most powerful of the ROs and comes with a lifetime warranty. If you're just doing this as a hobby it covers you even if you only use it a few times per year.

Detailers Domain (our sponsor) has some great packages that include 5 or 10 5.5" Uber pads (get 10 you'll need them) of your choice so you can pick what you'll need and includes a 5" backing plate. Uber pads have a recessed velcro which is an added margin of safety for beginners at machine polishing and they are flat pads which will give you the most correction with a RO. Rec: 4 Orange, 3 Green, 2 Bue if your car has soft paint for final finishing and a black for applying each LSP you plan to use.

For polish you might want to consider UNO Advanced Cut http://cart.hdcarcare.com/polishes-compounds very user friendly, resonably priced and if your car has hard clear you may not even need the HD Polish as the UNO finishes down very well. Even if you do you're still only talking $45 for one 16oz bottle of each--they will last you a number of years as you will use very little. While you're at it their Sealant/Wax hybrid POXY is a great LSP--protection of a sealant the look of a wax.

BTW--I polished my wife's Ford Escort by hand a few years ago using Megs 105--my arms are still numb.

For polish you might want to consider UNO Advanced Cut http://cart.hdcarcare.com/polishes-compounds very user friendly, resonably priced and if your car has hard clear you may not even need the HD Polish as the UNO finishes down very well. Even if you do you're still only talking $45 for one 16oz bottle of each--they will last you a number of years as you will use very little. While you're at it their Sealant/Wax hybrid POXY is a great LSP--protection of a sealant the look of a wax.

BTW--I polished my wife's Ford Escort by hand a few years ago using Megs 105--my arms are still numb.

If you're going to purchase a Random Orbital it makes sense to consider the Groits Garage RO as it is the most powerful of the ROs and comes with a lifetime warranty. If you're just doing this as a hobby it covers you even if you only use it a few times per year.

Detailers Domain (our sponsor) has some great packages that include 5 or 10 5.5" Uber pads (get 10 you'll need them) of your choice so you can pick what you'll need and includes a 5" backing plate. Uber pads have a recessed velcro which is an added margin of safety for beginners at machine polishing and they are flat pads which will give you the most correction with a RO. Rec: 4 Orange, 3 Green, 2 Bue if your car has soft paint for final finishing and a black for applying each LSP you plan to use.

For polish you might want to consider UNO Advanced Cut http://cart.hdcarcare.com/polishes-compounds very user friendly, resonably priced and if your car has hard clear you may not even need the HD Polish as the UNO finishes down very well. Even if you do you're still only talking $45 for one 16oz bottle of each--they will last you a number of years as you will use very little. While you're at it their Sealant/Wax hybrid POXY is a great LSP--protection of a sealant the look of a wax.

BTW--I polished my wife's Ford Escort by hand a few years ago using Megs 105--my arms are still numb.

I've been reading alot of positive reviews about the HD products.....still on the fence about making a purchase.

Zero dust. I have UNO V4 -- have done six passes with moderate pressure and two more with light pressure to finish down and it was still wet--wipes off very easy. My understanding is that the new version, UNO Advanced Cut, has even longer working time and stays clear.
On my wife's Ford Escort (pretty hard clear) I can finish down with a B&S orange pad and be LSP ready.

Since I've never used other polishes I can't say how it compares to Optimum and I didn't have any problems adjusting to UNO's characteristics--less is more (I used 3 dime size drops to prime and 1 additional per panel), it likes high speed rotation (5.5-6 on my GG RO) and slow arm speed. You will hear some people complain about the results they get, but it is usually pilot error--using UNO like other polishes they are accustomed to. The new HD Polish is for finishing mostly on soft clears and non-mettalic dark colors. HD Speed (AIO) looks amazing for an AIO--contains POXY which is a great wet look--have heard a couple of comments that it has more cut than PoliSeal and GPS -- waiting on my bottle now.

Most successful user who posts allot on Autopia.org is thomasdekany -- look for his posts. Biggest problem HD has (IME) is they don't have an indepth "How to use UNO" video, which I believe is now in the works.

I'm a little high on HD because I'm new to machine polishing and am having fantastic results as a beginner so take what I say with a grain of salt.